Lolek
Character Analysis

Anja’s nephew. Lolek is the son of Herman and Helen, and older brother of Lonia. Because his parents are abroad when the war breaks out, he stays with Anja and Vladek throughout much of the war. When the Nazis evacuate Srodula, the ghetto where the three of them are living, Lolek refuses to hide with Vladek and Anja in a bunker. He is sent to Auschwitz, but survives the war and later becomes an engineer and college professor.

Lolek Quotes in Maus

The Maus quotes below are all either spoken by Lolek or refer to Lolek. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

).
Note: all page numbers and citation info for the quotes below refer to the Pantheon edition of Maus published in 1993.

Lolek Character Timeline in Maus

The timeline below shows where the character Lolek appears in Maus. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Part 1, Chapter 4

...sister, Tosha; Tosha’s husband, Wolfe; their daughter, Bibi; and Anja’s niece and nephew, Lonia and Lolek, whose parents, Herman and Helen, were in New York visiting the World’s Fair when the...
(full context)

...Stara Sosnowiec, he seeks more legitimate work, in a carpentry shop managed by the Germans. Lolek and Mr. Zylberberg work in the shop as well. None of the men are paid...
(full context)

Part 1, Chapter 5

...Sosnowiec to work in German shops: Anja and Tosha in a clothing factory, he and Lolek in a carpentry shop. By this time, the Germans have installed Jews as guards and...
(full context)

...Vladek and the Zylberberg family move houses. He and Anja, Mr. and Mrs. Zylberberg, and Lolek are the only ones left. They build another bunker, this time in the attic. That...
(full context)

...Vladek bribes Haskel with a diamond ring. Haskel says he can get Vladek, Anja, and Lolek out of the ghetto, but that it will be too conspicuous if he tries to...
(full context)

...shoe shop (Haskel has made escape plans of his own) and invite Vladek, Anja, and Lolek to hide with them when the time comes. Lolek refuses to hide. He is fifteen...
(full context)

With Lolek gone, Anja becomes hysterical. They have recently heard the news about Richieu’s death – and...
(full context)

Part 2, Chapter 4

...distraught, Vladek says, and her suicide followed a few years later. There are pictures of Lolek, who survived Auschwitz and became “an engineer and a big-shot college professor.” Vladek tells Artie...
(full context)